Monday, 23 February 2015

Corliss Online Financial Mag: P&G to Sell 100 Brands

Consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble confirmed last week that they plan to sell off a total of 100 brands, suggesting deeper cuts than originally reported.

P&G confirmed they have finalized deals for 35 brands out of 100 that they are expecting to sell by 2016. The troubled company is also expecting to sell those brands that have collected a total sales in the USD 10 billion mark, contrary to the USD 8 billion it has previously announced.

According to Jon Moeller, P&G's Chief Financial Officer, the brand divestitures could reduce their annual sales by as much as 14% -- a pretty big difference from the original 10% estimate loss in total revenue.

Meanwhile, other officials of the company confirmed that those decisions are already the 'refined' version of their original plans and that they are only trying to consolidate their brand portfolio.

Most of the brands shortlisted in its divestiture plans have already been sold on account of their low performance. But Moeller is quick to point out though that the brands they are selling are not necessarily weak ones -- they are just underperforming in the eyes of the management.

P&G has previously sold its pet food brands along with a handful of laundry and beauty brands. According to experts, Wella salon and Braun appliances are next on the list. According to Corliss Online Financial Mag, the largest potential divestiture yet is the Duracell batteries to Berkshire Hathaway, owned by billionaire Warren Buffett. The battery maker reportedly generates USD 2.6 billion in revenue per year.

Procter & Gamble's CEO Alan Lafley said in a conference that they expect selloff to be completed in 5 months. He added, "We have had a lot of interest in the assets we want to dispose."

Corliss Online Financial Mag has previously reported Lafley announcing last year that P&G plans to concentrate on around 70 brands as a core group of the company.